The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1887-07-22
THE MAN WE PICKED UP IN
THE YAWL.
Whose Name Was s.Thc Curse. +"


M ~ tJuus
"The world on land has always
wondered At sailor Jacks snpersti
iiOns," said Capt Harvey of the
brig Alice aud Mary, sand yet nc
landsnan can make trip across
The ocean without feeling something
of the superstition that clings 10
mpn who follow the sea for a living.
VerF w of the sailors SO-called sn.
pefckiiions arise from Ignorance.
Most OF them have a veritable
tOundafiOn. You laugh at the idea
OF the Flying. Dutchmau, and yet
you may find hundreds OF sea-fariug
men, captains, mates and fOremast
hands, who have seen phantom yes
sells. Jacks dislike to having a
corpse Oh board his ship is natural
enough. Find me a crew of lands
man who would care TO ride for a
day or more in wagon or bag
gage car with a dead body. He
has his superstiIionS about Friday,
but so has the landsman. Actors
will not open with new play on
Friday night, aud there are thous-
ands of business nIen who are chary
about beginning a new enterprise
Ou that day. Certain sIgns aud
omens suppress poor Jack at sea.
You will tiud certain signs aud
Omens expressing people ashore as
we'll. Ii people but stopped 10 take
the second Thought, they would un.
derstand that sailors have no more
superstition than tue same number
OF halt.educated landsmen; but if
you we've a sailor Yourself, you
would wonder that Jack reasons as
intelligently as he does. The great
oceans are mysteries to begin with.
Each distant sail, each bit of wreck
age, each vessel which sets sail
never to be heard OF more, is a mys-
terry. There is a constant shifting
OF bars and channels; new islands
come to the surface; old ones dis.
appear. Each day at sea develops
something to awe aud mistity.
sOne of the strangest incidents
connected with my sailor lite Oc.
Cured in 1859. was mate OF an
English brig called the Little Duke,
aud we're We three day out from Rio
Janeiro, aud all we'll, When one
moruiug, just after daylight, with a
smOotL sea and the wiud carrying
us along at not more than two knots
an hour, we sighted 4 ships yawl on
the port bow. We bad to change
our course moi more tbau two points
10 plck the boathp. Lying at full
length on the boats bottom, and
apparently asleep, was human
being. he was little old maD, not
over 5 feet high, and just how old
no one coulfl guess. be didn't
look like naiIre of Brazil, nor yet
could we caII bim a white man. He
wasn't dressed as = sailor, nor yet
had We seen a landsnan IN such
shore 'togsf as be wore. HIS face
was fulI of wrinkles, his whiskers
long and gray, aud he bad the wild
eat ewes aud the longest teplh OF
apy man ever saw. We had pick
ed him np rs castaWay, and you
can imagine our surprise when be
not only refnsed to leave the boat,
but lealed upnod altacked ua Win
a broken car. Tue boat con alued
neither water nor food, even ln the
smallest quantity, and We kue4 70
A csrtaintl lhht be must haFe eeen
afIoat lor srteral days a least
i'WeIl. bslieving the msn 10 be
craxv - n.sd whatever i0ree w4s
ueoesssr1 lo sabdue hin a1d take
hin aboard abe brig. NaAe Ee
Vers tying Bis handsIand ieet le
osiled ouf in pa1siblY good hnellsn
thaf 70 put hfu aboard The Dute